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Miliwanga's story

Miliwanga's reflections on the Intervention's impact on her Northern Territory community.

“It (the Intervention) has taken away our dignity and our identity,” Miliwanga says. “We used to have a Council of Elders in our community… people were well aware that if they did something wrong we would have this council solve it for us… the Intervention took all that away.”

The Council of Elders isn't all the Intervention has taken away from the Beswick community. It's taken control over their lives. Miliwanga reveals she's even fighting to stay in the house she currently lives in.

Miliwanga says the community hasn't seen the promises of the Intervention fulfilled, such as improved healthcare, housing, and education. In fact, the situation in the community has deteriorated. For instance, Miliwanga describes how the government has boarded over broken windows rather than replacing the glass.

“To this day some houses have all these boards up on the windows,” she says in disbelief. According to Miliwanga, the community feels helpless as a result of the Intervention, which she accuses of creating the very problems it was intended to solve, and removing what support systems the community had in place.

"It (the Intervention) has taken away our dignity and our identity."

Stop and think: who controls your life?

How would you feel if army vehicles arrived in your street unannounced and took charge of your community? If this happened to you, who would you turn to for justice and protection? How would you feel if the Government controlled your bank account?